Vacuum cleaner



Aug. ,24, 1943.

J. A. M ANERNEY 2,327,810

VACUUM CLEANER Filed Dec. 28, 1939 Inventor: Joseph A. Mc Anerney,

His Atto'rn ey.

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 VACUUM omance Joseph'A McAnerney, New .Y.', assignor v to Electric Vacuum Cleaner corporation of New York Application December as, 1939, Serial No. 311,353

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners of the type in which the suction-producing and dirt-separating means are supported within an enclosing casing.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement for reducin the noise of operation, and for a consideration of what I believe novel and my invention attention is directed to the following description and the claim appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a vacuum cleaner embodying my invention;. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the sound absorber showing its relation to th vacuum cleaner casing; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of one of the discharge louvers in the casing; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the sound absorber; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the sound absorber.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a vacuum cleaner having a vertical cylindrical casing I supported on casters 2 and provided with a handle 3. At the lower end ofthe casing is a suction coupling 4 for connection with a con ventional flexible hose provided with a suction nozzle. The suction coupling is mounted on a tube 5 extending through the side of the casing and fixed at its inner end to an elbow 6 mounted on a supporting ring I fixed to the side walls of the casing. The upper end of the elbow 6 has connected thereto a vertical tube 8 discharging against a cover 9 seated on the upper edge of the casing. With this arrangement the suction hose is connected to the lower part of the vacuum cleaner casin and there is less tendency for the casing to tip as it is pulled about by the suction hose.

Extending through the center of the supporting ring 1 is a casing Ill for a multi-stage centrifugal fan ll driven by a motor i2 mounted on and depending from the casing. The casing I0 is provided with an outwardly extending flange i3 bolted to the inner edge of a rubber ring l4.

The outer edge of the rubber ring is bolted to l the inner edge of the supporting ring I. The rubber ring accordingly provides a resilient support for the motor fan unit. Fixed to the top of the supporting ring I is a U-shaped standard [5 supporting a'plate it having fixed thereto a plurality of brackets 21. Bolted to the brackets ll are concentric, vertically extending cylinders l8 and IQ of wire mesh, the cylinders being held in spaced relation by spacers Zilsurrounding the bolts extending through the bracket I1 and by an annular bead 2| extendin between and bolted to the upper ends of the cylinders. The lower end of the cylinder 19' terminates at the brackets ll. The lower end of the cylinder It depends below the brackets l1 and around and spaced from the fan casing l0. Extending downward within the upper end of the casing I is a cloth bag 22 clamped at its upper end to a metal ring 23 having an outwardly extending flange 24 covered by a rubber bead 25 and clamped between the cover 9 and the upper edge of the casing. The flange 24 is provided with an enlarged portion 26 through which the upper end of the tube 8 extends. Fixed to the lower edge of the ring 23 and dependingwithin the bag 22 and around the cylinder I3 is a frame comprising spaced vertical strips 21 fixed at their lower ends to a metal ring 28. The bag extends downward fromthe ring 23, below the ring 28 at the lower end of the frame, upward between the frame and the cylinder l8,

over the bead 2| and downward within the cylin-' der 19. The air discharged against the cover 9 by the tube 8 is filtered through the bag and enters the fan casing through inlet openings 29 in the upper end of the fan casing i ii. The air is discharged from the fan in an axial direction through and around the motor l2 and out through openings 30 in the motor casing a indicated by the arrows 30a. The air discharged from the fan has a rotational or swirling motion and is discharged axially through the openings 30 with a spiral and generally downward motion At the bottom of the casing l is a cup-shaped sound absorber or reducer having a circular bottom wall 3| and cylindrical side walls 32 each comprising a plurality of layers of non-metallic sound absorbing material, suchas corrugated paper. The bottom walls of'the sound absorber fit within a cylindrical recess 33 in a disk 34 bolted to the bottom of the casing I. The bottom walls 3| of the sound absorber are bolted to the disk 34. The side walls 32 of the sound absorber extend upwardly and have their upper ends presented toward the fan and surrounding and spaced from the fan discharge openings 30. The cylindrical walls 32 of the sound absorber provide an annular space surrounding the motor to which the fan discharges axially. In this space the air has a rotational or swirling motion. The upper ends of the cylindrical walls 32 of the sound absorber are spaced slightly below the fan casing, providing a passage 35 through which air flows from the interior of the sound absorber. through the passage 35 is discharged from the casing through louvers 36.

The sound absorber produces a marked reduc- The air flowing tion in the noise of operation. This reduction is due partly to the fact that the motor I2 is substantially wholly surrounded by walls of sound absorbing material. A further reduction of noise is due to the shape of the sound absorber or reducer which provides a cup-shaped chamber to which the air is discharged axially from the fan with a rotational or swirling motion. In this chamber the air loses some of its rotational motion before flowing to the louvers 36 through the relatively restricted annular passage 35 between the fan and the upper ends of the sound absorber walls 32. From this aspect, the side walls 32 of the sound absorber serve as a baflle'separating the air with a high rotational velocity around the motor l2 from the air with a low rotational velocity adjacent the louvers 36.

The noise is further reduced by the fact thatthe air flowin through the passage 35 flows transverse to the tubular passages 31 between the corrugations in the paper forming the walls 32. The passages 31 function as sound mufilers or absorbers.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is;

In combination, a motor, a centrifugal fan driven thereby and discharging axially around the motor, and walls defining a cup-shaped space having an open top spaced from the fan and a discharge passage from and presented to said 

